The Elevator Ride
by thejordanandhervices
Summary: So far it's a three-shot. Nico and Hades' elevator ride to Olympus./ Nico accidentally sees Hercules the Disney movie./ Percy sees a commercial for Intuniv, the ADHD medicine.
1. Chapter 1:Elevator Ride

**So I got this idea when I was rereading the last book. Percy mentioned Nico entering Olympus with his dad and I exclaimed to the empty room, "That must have been an awkward ride!" Thus, this fanfc was born. Read, review, and try to bear with me and my awkwardness. :/**

DING! The elevator that would take them to Olympus arrived on the ground floor of the Empire State Building. Nico groaned internally, he would have to ride the entire six hundred floors up with his father, Lord Hades.

The doors closed behind them and the music began to play. "Stayin' Alive" filled the silence between the two. Nico stared at the numbers slowly increasing. They made it to 125 before Hades cleared his throat.

"I suppose I must thank you for pestering me into this battle. It seems it wasn't as hopeless an endeavor as I thought."

Nico, stunned, took a moment to respond. This was more affection than he had probably ever received from his father. "Um, thanks Dad." He stared at the ceiling, hoping it would tell him what to do now. He had said a lot when he was yelling at his dad in the Underworld, but this was different. "Hey dad, can I, uh, ask you a question?"

Hades stared down at his son with contempt, and maybe a little respect. "Does the Helm intimidate you?"

Was it him, or was the elevator getting warmer? "Only a little, I just think this would be easier if you took it off."

"What would be easier?" The Lord of the Underworld asked his son. Several moments were passed in silence, bringing the Bee Gees into focus.

"_Whether you're a brother,_

_Or whether you're a mother._

_You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive."_

_How ironic_, Nico thought. 460, 461…

Nico stood up straighter and looked his father in the eye, "I'm sorry I disobeyed you, but I'm no Percy Jackson. The world needed him. It was his destiny, his prophecy to fulfill."

"Haven't you grown wise?" Hades said, staring at the doors. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Nico steeled himself, there was more he wanted to say, but Hades spoke before he had the chance.

"You know," He started, "You remind me of your mother. Bianca got most of it, of course, but I see her will in you. Don't misuse it."

547, 548, 549…

The cheerful song of an era gone by continued to unnerve Nico, "I won't, Father. I _will _prove to you that I'm worthy of being your son."

"You already have," Hades said quietly, but his words were drowned in the elevator's signal that they had arrived.

Nico started; maybe things would be alright between them after all. But his father was the King of Darkness and the Lord of the Underworld, nothing would ever be easy.

Leaving the elevator, he got a strange image of Apollo in a silk shirt and bell bottoms dancing to seventies disco. Shaking the image from his head, he followed his father through the demolished streets of Olympus.

**Originally, this was going to be just awkwardness. It was going to be really uncomfortable for both parties, but I realized they didn't have too many nice moments in the book. (Besides that really cute one at the end of the last one) So I made this! Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2: Nico's Lost Day

**So I never really meant to write this, but it just popped into my head and wouldn't go away. So here it is. This is not a second chapter, per se, just a random one shot. I hope you enjoy it, or at least don't think it's too terribly awful. ~J**

"This can't be the place." Nico mumbled to himself, scanning the pastel-clad women behind the counters.

"Are you here for Dr. Dawson?" A woman asked him, claiming his attention.

"Umm… Yeah." He said lamely, scribbling a fake name and taking a seat in the corner where he could watch everyone who came and went. His contacts told him the Empousa woman would be here.

While he waited, he watched the families around him. Children played around a table, parents on the cell phones. The walls were covered in Pooh Bear stickers and pastel, it nauseated him. But that was to be expected from a mortal doctor's office. He hoped the information she could give him was worth this.

"Haha! Mommy, look! He has funny hair!" A little kid screamed from across the room. Nico glanced up sharply, following the kids sticky, extended finger. On the screen was a bluish man with blue fire for hair.

Nico's jaw dropped. "Oh. My. Gods." He watched as the movie unfolded, staring in horror as he watched Hades, Lord of Getting His Butt Whooped get slapped around for twenty minutes.

"Uh… excuse me?" a mad in blue scrubs asked, "Are you Nico… Dark?"

Okay, so as far as undercover names go, that one wasn't so hot. "Uhduh." He said, sounding real intelligent. He could see images of an exploding blue Hades burned into his eyes, like an afterimage of the sun.

The man's eyebrows drew together, "You don't look well at all. Let's get you into the examination room." He put his hand on Nico's shoulder, but immediately recoiled.

Nico turned slowly on his heels and walked straight out the door and straight into a light pole. There would be no unseeing that movie, he knew that for sure. He was forever scarred. Hidden under the layers of shock and revulsion was a cutting sadness. He would always be the son of the failure. He will forever be the boy with the short end of the stick, hiding in the shadows, watching the golden boys share the light.


	3. Chapter 3: Intuwhaa?

I think I might be turning this into a PJO drabble series. I don't know… You'll have to tell me if I should, or if I should just stop.

"Get back here!" Percy yelled after the smelly man who stole his Hot Pocket. "That's mine!"

Smelly Man turned a corner and was gone, Percy slowed to a stop. Chasing a mortal for a lukewarm pizza stick wasn't worth the chase…chase, he though, another reminder of Annabeth. Suddenly the Southern California street seemed way too warm, this wasn't home.

"We didn't know where to go next with Eric's ADHD…"

Percy started and looked over to the shop window full of TV's where a commercial for ADHD was playing. A hundred TV's telling parents if their kids aren't "alert and focused" then they need pills and "non-stimulate intuniv."

"Pfft," Percy scoffed, moving on. Eric's probably a demigod, he thought. Pills wouldn't only cause headaches, irritability, weakness and a decrease in…. umm…performance… BUT without the ability to keep our head in the game we die. It's that simple.

"Hey, a Bargain Mart," he said, "maybe I gan get some free samples."


End file.
